A Dose Of Reality
by sunniebelle
Summary: After their second Bad Wolf Beach goodbye, Rose gets fed up with the Doctor continuing to push her away. Can she help him to see what he might lose and can the Doctor take that next step forward? (Can be either Ten and Rose or Tentoo and Rose)


Rose was furious. Furious and hurt. She had truly believed that the Doctor, when he finally told her he loved her, was now ready to stop pushing her away. Ready to stop causing her vertigo with his constant and instantaneous 180's. Ready to fully commit to her and stop holding her at arm's length.

Yet, ever since they left that damned beach, he had reverted to old habits. Holding her close and then immediately pushing her away. Saying one thing with his eyes, but not really _saying_ anything at all.

She had given him time, trying not to push him too hard, trying to let him adjust to this new life. But after seven months of them being almost exactly where they were before she was trapped in Pete's World, she was fed up and ready for more.

When she approached him about it he had pulled out some of his old tricks; rambling about unrelated topics, deflecting, etc. When he refused to even have a simple, honest conversation about it, her fury had been evident and she had forced herself to walk to the other room before he saw her tears of hurt and frustration.

He must have seen them anyway, as she walked away, because he had slowly followed her to the other room.

She needed him to understand why she had left safety behind and jumped dimensions, why she had searched for months to find him. Why, even when she found a universe in which he had died, she never gave up hope that she would one day find him. It sure as hell had _not_ been to revert right back to their toe-the-line-between-romantic-and-platonic relationship.

She was done with the metaphorical whiplash. It was time for the Doctor to get a dose of reality. (And perhaps a Tyler Slap to boot. She'd decide later if it was still needed.)

Rose took a deep breath and swallowed back her tears, then turned to face him. She stood tall and purposeful, shoulders back and head held high, looking the Doctor in the eye. "I learned some very important things when I was alone. You wanna know what they were?" she asks evenly, arching an eyebrow slightly and nodding in his direction, daring him to say yes.

Suddenly nervous, he nods slightly and swallows hard, his Adam's apple bobbing a couple of times.

"I learned that I am ok on my own. I learned that I'm ok without you in my life. I learned that I could do the things we used to do together, all on my own, and quite brilliantly I might add." she said, a bit of pride in her voice for all she had accomplished.

Every sentence is like a harsh kick to the Doctor's gut, a knife twisted in his heart. He suddenly finds it difficult to breathe.

She was going to leave, he knows it now. He also knows he deserves it, there's no denying that. He had pushed her away one too many times and now she was doing the same.

Her countenance shifts slightly upon seeing his panic and pain, her face and posture soften. She takes two steps toward him, now toe-to-toe with her Doctor. She studies him for several long moments.

All previous thoughts suddenly fly from his head. He can do nothing but watch her watching him.

"All that led to one very big realization," she says softly, amber eyes locked on deep brown.

He stays mute, afraid to utter a single sound or move a muscle. His eyes are locked on hers, his heart in his eyes since his cannot hide it any more.

After a long silence, unable to hold back his curiosity anymore, he asks, "What's that?"

She gives him a gentle, loving smile. "I realized that I didn't want to be _ok_ on my own. I didn't want to live a life that was _ok_ without you in it. I didn't want to do the things we used to do togetherall on my own, even if I did do them brilliantly." The Doctor's face slowly broke into a hesitant smile that steadily got bigger and brighter with every declaration.

"Because living a life that is simply okwithout you in it is nothing compared to living a _fantastic_ life _with_ you, Doctor."

Anyone looking at the Doctor after this assertion would have called him a love-sick nutter, what with the way he was grinning like a loon and emitted a high-pitched happy sound.

All at once his fear of losing her, of her getting too close disappeared.

Suddenly he couldn't hold himself back anymore. He grabbed Rose and pulled her hard against him, his arms encircling her ribs tightly. His kiss was all at once passionate, loving, but gentle, yet still forceful enough to cause Rose to melt against him and sigh with genuine pleasure.

He knows he has been a fool, a coward, and a complete idiot. But by Rassilon he is going to correct it! He will do whatever it takes to keep his precious Rose happy. Even if it means doing the hardest thing he has ever done in any of his lives—bare his soul to her, let her claim it as her own.

All at once he knew, had made his choice. His choice was her, his Rose.

He was done running.


End file.
